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Car Forum / Volkswagen / Water Cooled Volkswagen Cars / December 2008two fans by radiator not spinning
Hi there, Not sure if it is due to the cold here, it is about -15 degrees Celsius or so, but i have noticed that the two fans by my radiator are not spinning, and I'm trying to figure out if this is a problem - since i can only see this when the car is stopped. I drive a 2000 Golf 1.8T. My temperature gauge isn't showing that the car is over heating, actually it is showing that the temperature of the engine is below 90, or the middle of the gauge. I have noticed that is i'm doing highway driving where that is wind the temperature actually goes down about 1 unit of measure on the gauge. When i'm in the city driving around, the temperature is in the middle of the gauge or 90. I'm wondering, shouldn't these two fans be spinning all the time? I don't see adverse performance or temperature inside the car nor from the temperature gauges - and i don't remember if they use to spin in the summer time. Advice? H They only spin when the temp sensor tells them to spin or if the A/C is on. If the engine's not hot, they're not needed. > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > H ...I'll check them with the a/c on, but I'm assuming that my engine would be *hot* after driving it 1/2 an hour. I realize it is winter, but still... I'm worried that i may have a blown sensor or something, however, then I would expect my car to overheat driving it on the highway, correct? ...maybe I'm paranoid. They only run above a certain coolant temp. I believe it's about 95C and the second stage at 102C. So if the engine is at 90C or less then they will not run. SFC > ...I'll check them with the a/c on, but I'm assuming that my engine > would be *hot* after driving it 1/2 an hour. I realize it is winter, > but still... > I'm worried that i may have a blown sensor or something, however, then > I would expect my car to overheat driving it on the highway, correct? > ...maybe I'm paranoid. > ...I'll check them with the a/c on, but I'm assuming that my engine > would be *hot* after driving it 1/2 an hour. I realize it is winter, > but still... > I'm worried that i may have a blown sensor or something, however, then > I would expect my car to overheat driving it on the highway, correct? > ...maybe I'm paranoid. It is also possible that you have a failed (open) thermostat. Under these conditions, it will take a VERY long time for the car to heat up to fan-trigger temperatures. Do you have good heat inside the car? Is your mileage still good? Does your exhaust smell any? Does it seem to be running rich? Peter Wieck Melrose Park, PA I have really good heat inside the car, and my mileage hasn't changed (+/- my regular caught in rush hour idling) I haven't noticed any difference in my exhaust. Do you mean heating up the interior? > It is also possible that you have a failed (open) thermostat. Under > these conditions, it will take a VERY long time for the car to heat up [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Peter Wieck > Melrose Park, PA > ...I'll check them with the a/c on, but I'm assuming that my engine > would be *hot* after driving it 1/2 an hour. I realize it is winter, > but still... Erik meant 'hot' as in 'over-heating' Do a google, or similar, on 'thermoswitch' ;o) ...but am i safe to assume that if the temp sensor was gone, wouldn't my car overheat driving to work (about a 45 minute ) drive? most likely not. the fans arent absolutely necessary when driving at highway speed > ...but am i safe to assume that if the temp sensor was gone, wouldn't > my car overheat driving to work (about a 45 minute ) drive? >...but am i safe to assume that if the temp sensor was gone, wouldn't >my car overheat driving to work (about a 45 minute ) drive? How do I tell if my engine is hot? Look at your oil temp guage. Fans are to get air moving over the radiator. Those fans to not move as much air running full speed as passes the radiator naturally at 45 mph. Well that is my theory with no scientific method to test my theory. If I had a wind speed indicator to mount behind the radiator maybe I could test. Your car is more likely to overheat stuck in traffic than while driving at a fair speed. Of course if you have a TDI it is unlikely to ever overheat much less get warm at idle in traffic when it is -15C. I just got in from checking my car, i just drove to work taking more than an hour with a mixture of highway and stop and go traffic. ...even with the a/c on, the two fans on my 2000 VW Golf 1.8T don't spin, however, my temperature gauge inside the car never pass 90. I checked it when i can to a stop at work. Actually, if i turn on the fans full blast, it goes down a knotch or two while I'm driving (with heat on full blast). It takes about 5 minutes or so for my car to warm up, which is normal, since is is -25 degrees Celsius here. ...you guys are saying that the fans should kick in as soon as a/c is engaged? It the air itself gets really cold, but the fans don't spin. ...and i'm still wondering, if they weren't kicking in, wouldn't my car over heat eventually or at least show a temperature higher than 90? it has never gone over 90 degrees. (this is a canadian panel). H Sounds like an open thermostat no? ...anyone know how much that would run at the garage? No, if it's a bad thermostat then it'll take a very long time (>1h) to warm up. I guess the only thing you could try is to block the air going to the rad with e.g. card board. If it still stays at 90deg then it's just too cold and it'll never overheat! SFC > Sounds like an open thermostat no? > ...anyone know how much that would run at the garage? > No, if it's a bad thermostat then it'll take a very long time (>1h) to > warm up. I guess the only thing you could try is to block the air going to > the rad with e.g. card board. This is an easy way to check this, but stay with the car. I did exactly this once for just this purpose, and got called away for something I thought would take a few minutes. It took a lot more than a few minutes and I barely avoided an overheating by coming back just in time. - Bill hmmm...turns out to be the thermostat. still amazed on how much it costs. 40 for the actual thermostat, 35 for the fluid, and like 3.5 hours of labour (dealer)!! I doubt it was the thermostat because you say it warmed up in 5min at -25C!! Anyway it seems very expensive for a thermo and fluid, but what do you expect at the stealer. SFC > hmmm...turns out to be the thermostat. > still amazed on how much it costs. 40 for the actual thermostat, 35 > for the fluid, and like 3.5 hours of labour (dealer)!! Not sure of which VW the OP has but....... I know of someone with no heat in her 2001 Passat V6. She went to the dealer and they claimed it was the thermostat too. So to change it they would change the thermostat, water pump and timing belt for $1400 and would not guarantee that it would give her heat. WTF I checked it before she went to the dealer and it has a clogged heater core, very little coming out of the bleed hole of the heater hose, but my garden hose is frozen solid so I could not flush it out. :-( One of the radiator shops wants to change out the heater core in a couple of weeks when they have time. I only wanted them to try flushing out the heater core. $-) I just replaced the thermostat in a 2000 Golf 2.0l AEG engine. Kinda nice not having to go under the car and open up the flood gates above you. lol Merry Xmas to all! One out of many daves >I doubt it was the thermostat because you say it warmed up in 5min >at -25C!! Anyway it seems very expensive for a thermo and fluid, but what [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >> still amazed on how much it costs. 40 for the actual thermostat, 35 >> for the fluid, and like 3.5 hours of labour (dealer)!! it did give heat, but the heat was weaker than i expected...and it was. during a storm here, the front window didn't defrost and the engine temperature was all over the place (too low). Any hoots, it is all fixed now, the temperature gauge is stable and heat is like 100x better. thermostat? > it did give heat, but the heat was weaker than i expected...and it > was. during a storm here, the front window didn't defrost and the > engine temperature was all over the place (too low). Any hoots, it is > all fixed now, the temperature gauge is stable and heat is like 100x > better. Air conditioning may not engage if it is too cold. Is the compressor turning? No not the idler pully but the AC crankshaft. Why do you believe an engine is going to get hot when it is cold outside? What is your oil temp? If it is not 90C then the engine is not hot. You can get hot water out of a gas engine but the engine is not neccessarily hot. It is just getting heat off the head but the rest of the engine can be relatively cold. When you put your hand on the oil pan after driving it for an hour can you hold your hand there for 10 minutes without pain? If the answer is yes then the engine is not hot. >I just got in from checking my car, i just drove to work taking more >than an hour with a mixture of highway and stop and go traffic. [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >H > Hi there, > [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > H H I recommend you check the fuse box on top of the battery. There are three green 30amp fuses. It is common for the fuse box to melt causing one of the three fuse not to make contact. The #1 fuse is the fuse for the cooling fans. The fan will come on at about 97c degrees. and shut down about 94 c degrees. You can test this by putting something to hold the throttle at 2000 rpm and wait to see if the fans to come on. Good luck Mike |
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